I want to do right, but not right now

Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we diet. Happy New Year wishes whether you are running around with your ragtop down or cozied in and behaving yourself as we will be.

I quit making resolutions as I always break them. Wondering if I should use reverse psychology on myself... resolve to do the opposite of what I really want to do... would that work?

This Modern Ailment

There hasn't been much political content around this place for awhile. That's because I'm suffering from

Crazy Fatigue

The amount of crazy is overwhelming. It's hard to know where to start sometimes.

This Modern World blog

Sixties birthdays today

Today is the birthday of Ray Thomas, founding member of the Moody Blues and retired from that band just a few years ago. Not many bands stay around long enough for band members to be able to retire from them. Ray is best known for his baritone singing voice and his flute-playing. Here's a sixties video of the song he's best known for, "Legend of a Mind," which you might think of as "Timothy Leary's Dead".

A friend of mine (someone I have traveled and shared rooms with while going to the Moodies' shows) got married to Ray during the past year, and I am tickled pink for the both of them. (Should that be "tickled blue"?)

Ray shares a birthday with sixties rock icon, Marianne Faithfull. I read her autobiography, and enjoyed what seemed to be a great level of honesty and frankness in it. I rate it above some other rocker memoirs that I've read. Here is a fairly recent interview with her:

And this is part 1 of a BBC documentary about Marianne Faithfull. Fascinating stuff if you are interested in 60s pop culture.

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

A product whose time has come?

Had to laugh when I saw this... still didn't buy it though. It's big (it's silly big like a clown remote), and that would make it easier, but something tells there would still be multiple remotes needed. Skeptical...

What we've been watching

Holiday reviews (so far)
My last work day before winter break was Dec. 18, and let me say that having a winter break from a job is a great benefit. Aside from all the x-mas frenzy of gift-wrapping followed by visits to the Post Office, it's been calm. We've been getting some rather obscure videos from the Public Library and local indie video stores. Aside from a wine video from John Cleese, a short stack of Doctor Who videos from the 70s and 80s (which are new to us), we got music stuff like Cocksucker Blues and White Stripes: Under Blackpool Lights.

Cocksucker Blues is a backstage documentary of the Rolling Stones' 1972 Exile on Main Street tour. It's like watching rough-quality home movies that happen to show quite a bit of skin (including Mick's) and band/groupie antics. "Debauchery" is the word used most often to describe the goings-on. There's concert footage too, which includes Stevie Wonder. I believe this disk is a bootleg (was not legally released) but you can find it if you want it. I saw 2 shows from that '72 tour (on the same day).
Cocksucker Blues on Subterranean Cinema

The White Stripes disk is a rare and out-of-print one. It's shot on grainy film but captures the energy of the show. Jack White is amazing. I have missed a couple of opportunities to see him live, need to remedy that.

On the 24th, we went out to the IMAX theatre to see Avatar in 3-D. Stunning, awesome, incredible. Here I am standing out in 30-40° with strong winds, waiting in the line. That's about as much cold as we have to endure down here in the daytime, but it was so worth it. I am not going to present plot spoilers here, but I strongly encourage you to see this in 3-D and at an IMAX if possible.
{I think I look like Darth Maul's granny in that getup}

The next day (Christmas Day) we went to the Alamo Ritz to see Sherlock Holmes, and even though Avatar was a hard act to follow, we really enjoyed this one too. It's an action movie and period piece with good acting (rapidly becoming a Robert Downey Jr. fan here) and a puzzle or two to solve - and all set up for a sequel. I wouldn't mind that either.

My friend wanted to join us at the sold-out showing, so she found a man on craigslist who had 5 tickets to sell, tracked down the woman who bought the 5 tickets from him, found out that she only needed 4, so we met up with her at the theatre and bought the spare. Now that's Tenacity with a capital T.

Many Happy Returns

I ordered something online to send over the pond for a December birthday, and after sending I located the receipt just in case it would be needed. It was folded in half, and I had a laugh when I opened it up. Those guys at T-Shirt Hell are such cutups!

Happy Boxing Day in the UK, and Return Your Gifts Day everywhere. We are headed to Target pretty soon and certainly will observe the festivities in progress.

Bumper Truth

Show us yer...

{MrB sent me this. Don't know where the pic came from but supposedly the cow's in Marfa}

Grinch, Unlimited

I always post a lot of snarky Xmas stuff, the more irreverent, funny or bizarre, the better. It helps me get through it.

Christmas is hard for me. I have a lot of bad memories that are directly associated with this holiday and all its traditions. In my first year of this blog (2005) I laid out my long explanation for all my troubles in a post called "Get out the violins." My goal is to get to December 26 without some kind of meltdown... beginning with me, and sometimes taking down people or situations I care about.

It has really helped me to have lived in Austin for these past 9 years (we moved here the week before Christmas so it's an anniversary of something positive) because I am a holiday-orphan here. I am not required to attend family gatherings (some with gift-exchange rituals) that make me crazy sad. My apologies to those who are unfortunate enough to have ended up being related to me in some way, especially my poor, long-suffering husband, but believe me... nobody should even want to put me through that kind of thing. It is quite painful.

There are some Christmas gift exchanges, but only a few and all are done through the mail with no ceremony or ritual of traditions (at least on this end), and those are fine. I don't need to be medicated to do it. ;-)

We have no tree in the house, in fact, no decorations at all indoors. I've got a little bag of them, but this year didn't even bother to hang stockings for the kitty-cats. (sorry kitties.) Usually I put together a holiday e-card and send it all our friends, but this year I didn't even do that... and I do feel bad about that last one... I may have just gone too far this time. Anyway, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to make it. I'm very happy that it's almost here... and gone.

Read other people's shared hellish stories on My Miserable Christmas.

Jesus and Elvis

Sent to me through a mailing list. The similarities are uncanny, don't you think?

*************

Jesus said: "Love thy neighbor." (Matthew 22:39)
Elvis said: "Don't be cruel." (RCA, 1956)

Jesus is the Lord's shepherd.
Elvis dated Cybill Shepherd.

Jesus was part of the Trinity.
Elvis' first band was a trio.

Jesus walked on water. (Matthew 14:25)
Elvis surfed. (Blue Hawaii, Paramount, 1965)

Jesus' entourage, the Apostles, had 12 members.
Elvis' entourage, the Memphis Mafia, had 12 members.

Jesus was resurrected.
Elvis had the famous 1968 "comeback" TV special.

Jesus said, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." (John 7:37)
Elvis said, "Drinks on me!" (Jailhouse Rock, MGM, 1957)

Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights.
Elvis had irregular eating habits. (e.g. 5 banana splits for breakfast)

Jesus is a Capricorn. (December 25)
Elvis is a Capricorn. (January 8)

Matthew was one of Jesus' many biographers. (The Gospel According to Matthew)
Neil Matthews was one of Elvis' many biographers. (Elvis: A Golden Tribute)

"[Jesus] countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow." (Matthew 28:3)
Elvis wore snow-white jumpsuits with lightning bolts.

Jesus lived in state of grace in a Near Eastern land.
Elvis lived in Graceland in a nearly eastern state.

Mary, an important woman in Jesus' life, had an Immaculate Conception.
Priscilla, an important woman in Elvis' life, went to Immaculate Conception High School.

Jesus was first and foremost the Son of God.
Elvis first recorded with Sun Studios, which today are still considered to be his foremost recordings.

Jesus was the lamb of God.
Elvis had mutton chop sideburns.

Jesus' Father is everywhere.
Elvis' father was a drifter, and moved around quite a bit.

Jesus was a carpenter.
Elvis' favorite high school class was wood shop.

Jesus wore a crown of thorns.
Elvis wore Royal Crown hair styler.

Jesus H. Christ has 12 letters.
Elvis Presley has 12 letters.

No one knows what the "H" in "Jesus H. Christ" stood for.
No one was really sure if Elvis' middle name was "Aron" or "Aaron".

Jesus is often depicted in pictures with a halo that looks like a gold plate.
Elvis' face is often depicted on a plate with gold trim and sold through TV.

Jesus said: "Man shall not live by bread alone."
Elvis liked his sandwiches with peanut butter and bananas.

Jesus was regarded by some to have been an extraordinary prophet.
Elvis was regarded by some to have made an extraordinary profit.

*************

Image below taken from First Church of Jesus Christ, Elvis.

Upon this Jailhouse Rock, I will build my church.

Snarky Fark

Do you love Fark as much as I do? If you aren't familiar with it, it's a collection of real news links posted by users who come up with creative headlines. Every year they enable voting for favorites, and here's the top list for the first 3 months of the year. Go to that link if you want them all, or want to find the real stories. Partial list below.

Marilyn Monroe hormone discovered. Or should it be called Norma Gene?

Missouri Neo Nazis allowed to participate in Adopt a Highway program. The group may need additional help since they have requested to only pick up white trash

Octuplets doing well, breathing on their own, squirting ink

Barbie turns 50, finally accepts she will die childless and alone

Peephole in door of girl's dorm room reversed; police are looking into it

Woman arrested for having dead baby in carry-on luggage. Everyone knows that carrion needs to be checked in

Two-year-old refuses to sleep during day, may get charged with resisting a rest

Earliest chocolate has been now dated to between A.D. 1000 and 1125, still on sale at Walgreens

Woman trapped in bathtub for 4 days. "The woman's condition was not available." Submitter's not a doctor, but I'm going to guess "wrinkly"

"Cardinal Mystified by Child Sex Probe"; apparently the directions were missing from the package

Headline: Alzheimer's drugs doubles death risk. Apparently your risk of death is now 200%

Plane crashes in Florida panhandle, no pilot found. Well there's your problem

Man shoots himself through the heart with nailgun to scare his fiancee, gives love a bad name

Man driving a Kia leads police on a chase exceeding 100 mph, everyone's expectations of the Kia

Man plays electric guitar so loud that neighbor's fish jumps. It must have been a bass guitar

How to win friends and influenza people

Carpenters face higher-than-average asbestos death rate, higher-than-average resurrection rate

Man who robbed gas station made no threats, displayed no gun, simply offered an apology as he fled with a fistful of cash. Authorities on the lookout for a Canadian

Prosecutor receives kidney from rival defense attorney after learning they have the same blood type: cold

Man finds ten human teeth in wallet at Walmart. That's just decadent

Twittering encouraged in church. Submitter still afraid of being text-communicated

Study finds that a man looks into a woman's eyes for 8.2 seconds if he is attracted to her, 4.5 seconds if he is not, and 0.0 seconds if she's a C-cup or above

The true meaning of Christmas

Another religious nut attempts to teach the true meaning of Christmas by putting up a holiday display showing Jesus gunning down Santa with a double-barreled shotgun. Rudolph is also dead and strapped to the hood of the truck. This display is right across the street from a school bus stop.
[LINK with video]

Your Christmas tree looks... charmin'

Lovely.

{...and what's with the oven mitt hanging on the wall?}
Found on There, I Fixed It.

Yup. That's Nancy Reagan.

This week in live music

I just realized that I didn't cover last week's music shows, so here goes. Last Monday night we went down to Flipnotics to see Kimber and Dennis Ludiker, a brother/sister pair of fiddle champions. I don't have track of all the awards they have between them over their young lives (it's a stack), but Dennis is the Texas State Fiddle Champion for 2 years running, and Kimber is this year's National Old Time Fiddle Champion. Dennis lives in Austin and plays with MilkDrive (as does Matt Mefford, playing bass in these videos, although the camera really doesn't pick up the bass much). Kimber lives in Boston right now and plays with Della Mae, Broken Blossoms (and others, I'm sure). This was our first time to see her play.This was a free show at Flipnotics, a coffee house on Barton Springs Road with a living-roomy atmosphere and great music all the time. It was wonderful.

After a long and very busy work week, I was really glad to see Friday roll around and a show from Del Castillo down at the Armadillo Xmas Bazaar. For a very small price ($3-6) you can see great music every day and night (12 hours a day!) through December (and shop the funky art and crafts if that is your thing). Check out the blazing guitars! Del Castillo always brings me a lot of joy.
Over the weekend I developed some kind of stomach ailment, and was out of commission for most things, but we did make it out to Waterloo Records this evening to see David Rawlings (with Gillian Welch and members of Old Crow Medicine Show). Another free show although it being an instore with the band headed over to their real venue, they just played for a half hour. It was awesome, most definitely, and we got to chat with the Jarosz's (Sarah Jarosz, brand new Grammy nominee, is opening for Rawlings/Welch for 2 nights downtown). Wish I had more time, money and energy to do all the things that I want to do.

No War on Christmas Here!

You can't become righteously indignant because this product doesn't use the proper Christian-approved Holiday greeting. Buy it here or browse the rest of the tacky products.

Toys For Tats

Not a typo.

Donate a toy and get a free tattoo.


I remain un-inked mainly for 3 reasons:

• I'm afraid of pain.
• I don't like needles (the weekly allergy shots are enough for me).
• I change my mind too often.

Trying to think back through the years to wonder what images I would now be stuck with had I decided to make a commitment. There's the ex, and the other ex, etc. Then there's my favorite band... du jour... and my favorite movie or TV show, the one I will love more than anything for ever and ever... or maybe not (Curse you, George Lucas, so very glad I don't have a Star Wars tattoo right now.)

I'm such a fickle fangirl.

Lennon

{Austin sidewalk off So. Congress}

Lay low and chill

That's pretty much me this weekend. I am tired from the head cold or other sinus hell I've had all week. Feeling better but not wanting to make it worse. MrB is headed down to Waterloo Records to see Rosanne Cash at her free show there this morning. That's a sweet deal (and usually includes free beer to boot). Then he's going to Eco-Wise for some accent color paint to put on the tray table that goes with this bench. We adopted the pair of them this summer off the side of the road on bulk trash day, and now they are being spiffied up some. We went with intense green and orange instead of "aubergine" as originally planned.

It got to a hard freeze last night (goodbye mosquitoes) so we are in our dead of winter here - all stocked up with firelogs and DVDs from the library (mostly documentaries) and I'm working my way through The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I love the Library.

Rambling update

Posting has been light over the past week, I know. I took Thanksgiving week off and spent most of it cleaning out the junk room, which you can't call a bedroom at all since we haven't been able to see the floor in there for a couple of years at least. It's chock full of stuff I've collected over the years (mostly music memorabilia) that had gotten out-of-control disorganized during the 60 hr workweeks. At least those are much less frequent this year.

It wasn't all sorting little bits of paper and dust bunnies, we also went out a couple of times. On Thanksgiving Day we went to see The Road, which reminded me of a lot of dreams I've had (no wonder I had trouble sleeping!! who wants to go there?). We do recommend it, but don't go expecting any humor. It's not a feel-good movie (and describing a movie as "feel-good" is a sure way to keep me away from it, anyway) but it should get some conversations going.

Also over last weekend was another show featuring our beloved Band of Heathens, this time at Momo's, where they got started. The show was absolutely great, and they had a bunch of guest stars (Brian Keane, Seth Walker, Warren Hood), here's someone else's video of the band with Guy Forsyth.
This week brought a return to the office commute, and also some sinus hell (maybe a cold, maybe just allergies) but it's been kicking my ass hard all week with sniffy nose, clogged head, ear pain and trying to stay awake in an antihistamine fog. Couldn't really take sick time because of workload either, {gripe} but it's Friday... nuff said.

Samaritans spring for pricey designer purse

You've probably heard that tasty tidbit about Sarah Palin's book tour that she's doing by bus... except that her traveling on the bus is a hoax and is really using a $4000 per hour private jet to get from place to place, then riding the bus to and from the airport and bookseller for appearances' sake. [daily beast]

They don't know exactly who is paying for the jet, except for one little jaunt when Billy Graham's son, Franklin, allegedly used funds from his Christian charity Samaritan's Purse to fly her over for dinner. I wonder how their supporters feel about that?

More at raw story.

The Lighter Side of Getting Old

Sent to me in an email a couple of weeks ago.

All women should live so long as to be this kind of old lady!

Toward the end of Sunday service, the Minister asked, 'How many of you have forgiven your enemies?'

80% held up their hands.

The Minister then repeated his question. All responded this time, except one small elderly lady.

'Mrs. Neely? Are you not willing to forgive your enemies?'

'I don't have any.' She replied, smiling sweetly.

'Mrs. Neely, that is very unusual. How old are you?'

'Ninety-eight,' she replied. The congregation stood up and clapped their hands.

'Oh, Mrs. Neely, would you please come down in front & tell us all how a person can live ninety-eight years & not have an enemy in the world?'

The little sweetheart of a lady tottered down the aisle, faced the congregation, and said, 'I outlived the bitches.'

Hitchcockian sounds of Autumn and Winter

This is the corner of 6th and Lamar (Whole Foods, Waterloo Records), one of the places where birds congregate in great numbers in the Fall/Winter. Every tree or wire that you can see, as well as a lot of ledges and roof tops, are chock full of birds. The sound is incredible. I know of another area like this right next to Threadgill's on Riverside, and one at the intersection of MOPAC and Wm. Cannon. This area of Central Texas hits maximum bird population in November (by my perception).

{sorry for the shaky-cam}

Enjoy the day

Time to love the ones you're with.

Disappointing, to say the least

Man goes looking for biological father... was really hoping for better news.

The other T-Day, TARDIS Day

This is the 40th anniversary of the premiere of Doctor Who on BBC. It debuted just one day after JFK was assassinated (what a terrible time to start a new show!) and had a very slow start, as you can imagine. It was just a little 25 minute sci-fi serial marketed to children, with episode cliffhangers to keep you watching, and now reigns as the longest running sci-fi show on TV.

We've only recently gotten hooked on this show (beginning with the new incarnation which began in 2005) as you can see by my DVD rentals list down there, and want to see as much of it as exists on DVD. David Tennant is my Doctor.

We might be turning into geeky Whovians, but we haven't gone so far as to having a TARDIS in the living room (yet). Picture below from a real estate listing for a house that not only has a TARDIS but a Dalek as well (click the link -- you'd hardly even notice the suit of armor standing there). You never where these things might turn up.

Nov 22, the simplest and most complex

The Crime of the 20th Century.

November 22, even the mention of the date will always make me sad. I am absolutely convinced that the assassination was the result of a conspiracy, and that there was more than one shooter. The only way there could have been a lone gunman would be if the "single bullet" fabrication was possible. Ballistics and other evidence from that day do not support it. Three shots: two hits and one miss. One of the shots hits JFK and Connally both, and manages to exit leaving more fragments behind than it was actually missing. When that 3-shot theory breaks down, then the lone gunman theory breaks down too. It's that simple. [JFK Lancer ballistics page] It's the only simple part of this whole incident though, and as far as I'm concerned, it's still unsolved.

Previous November 22 postings

My recommended JFK assassination reading list:

JFK: The CIA, Vietnam, and the Plot to Assassinate John F. Kennedy by Col. L. Fletcher Prouty

Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy by Jim Marrs

On the Trail of the Assassins: My Investigation and Prosecution of the Murder of President Kennedy by Jim Garrison

Coup D'etat in America: The CIA and the Assassination of John F. Kennedy by Alan J Weberman, Michael Canfield

There are quite a few more that I've read and recommend, and lots that I haven't read too. Note: Oliver Stone had good intentions by bringing this stuff to the screen, but I dislike the fact that he changed things in order to make a movie out of it (as always must be done unless you are doing a documentary). This stuff is convoluted enough without making up composite characters, rearranging the timeline and stuff like that. Don't get the story from that. Consider the source, always.

There, I fixed it, and more.

Nice electric toothbrush. Good job of recycling too.
You said you wanted a hot shower... !
From nuts to soup.
Portable grill.
Proper labeling is so important.
These are all from a site I've been amusing myself with lately, called "There, I fixed it" (epic kluges and jury rigs, a celebration of duct tape, zip ties, stupidity and extreme MacGyverisms). Great, great collection of stuff. Also check these out, they are every bit as good, and are sister sites, (I think).

Item not as described (craigslist FAIL or just bizarro)
Lovely listing (hellish or extremely weird real estate listing photos)

Starring the turkey Sarah Palin pardoned in full view of the bird grinder on live TV

Plot: Five college kids have their Thanksgiving break ruined by a homicidal turkey.


[website] [IMDB] [Found via]

Weekend status update

Above, a closeup of one of the paintings on display on the East Austin Studio Tour going on this past weekend and next. The schedule was very complicated (too many events!) so we just meandered for awhile.There's one for you, Dr. Monkey! We like this example of recycling bottle caps, so now, guess what? We are saving bottle caps waiting for a creative use to hit us.

We only stayed a little while on the east side because the Green Austin event was going on at City Hall, where we went and won a nice attendance prize at a lecture: one of those "Kill-A-Watt" meters that measures the power you are using for one particular device or another. MrB loves it, as it's a green gadget, and it was free!

Saturday night we went out to Roadhouse Rags to see one of the new hot bands in town, The Trishas. The four official Trishas are Savannah Welch (Kevin's daughter), Liz Foster, Kelley Mickwee, Jamie Wilson, and they had Trisha Keefer as a guest on violin, so she was the Trisha named Trisha. They are all talented singers and there are strong songwriters in the band too. Most of all they just really sound good together. Really awesome. Here is their opening song, it's an old spiritual called "Moses"

I looked up this particular song and found some background on this page. OK, it's a textbook analysis, but helps keep the perspective on songs like this that weren't just "church music."

Since Moses was also the name by which the famous Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman was known, the song operates on at least two levels: 1) It draws on the Biblical story of Moses as a source of inspiration, and 2) it offers encouragement to the African American “Moses” – Harriet Tubman – in her divinely inspired work. The lyrics point to the danger surrounding the Underground Railroad: the danger of approaching horsemen on a chase, the risk of getting caught and rendezvous points (e.g., the graveyard), the risk of disapproval by children or other relatives. The lyrics also provide a picture of the sacred aura surrounding the work of the Underground Railroad: “Jordan rolling,” “angels moanin’!”

On Sunday we went to see "The Men Who Stare at Goats" which we both really liked, and recommend. Monday came around too soon.

I "Was" Somebody Else

"So much has happened in 4 weeks, it's hard to know where to begin...

Shaving my chest was not that big a deal. The tattoos though, getting those has made me feel like a whole new person."

(actual ad, I just sliced and stacked it to fit here better)
(and they get extra points for the misuse of quotation marks)

Let us pray... er... prey.

Book burning rained out

Remember that church that was holding the the Halloween Book Burning so they could burn all of "Satan's Bibles," the ones that were not the King James Version... and they also included "Satan's popular books" written by "heretics" such as Billy Graham, Rick Warren, James Dobson, Mother Teresa, The Pope, and a long list of others, as well as "Satan's music such as country, rap, rock, pop, heavy metal, western, soft and easy, southern gospel, contemporary Christian, jazz, soul, oldies but goldies, etc."? Here's a link to their site, but be warned... the pages play non-Satanic music that has no mute button, so you'll have to use your computer's sound controls to do that.

Well, it was proclaimed to be a great success even though nothing was burned! Wouldn't you know... on the day of the big burning event, God made it rain! And then "those in authority" reminded them that they couldn't legally burn stuff anyway, so they just tore everything up (indoors) and threw it in a trash can. They made a video of the whole thing. You can view it here (it's a .wmv file and will prompt you to download it*) and it is a surreal 30+ minutes featuring a plastic trash can being filled with ripped up books, shots of feet, and closeups of the preacher's butt as it moves back and forth retrieving more stuff. There is some non-satanic music playing in the background and announcements of titles as they go in... Andy Warhol would have been proud. The most disturbing thing in it for me is when he broke and trashed the Tom Petty's Greatest Hits CD.

The lack of fire was disappointing, just picture it... a raging bonfire of Bibles under the moonlight on Halloween... how very heathen!The church's website is a butt-ugly horror with a bazillion pages, including one for ungodly politicians, which includes Obama of course, but also includes Dubya Bush, Kay Bailey Hutchison, John McCain and Sarah Palin! Actually the whole site is perversely entertaining, with their lists of things (including the good, bad and ugly of their county, such as a gas station that doesn't sell beer or lottery tickets - that's in the category of "good"). If you want a similar website for yourself, you can get ahold of this guy. He did it, and did it godly.

*I was soooo tempted to upload it to YouTube, but was afraid people would think it was really my video.

Weekend Roundup

Here it is Tuesday, so I'm trying to catch up with posting (plus I still have an award to pick up and run with). MrB returned from St. Louis, bringing me this souvenir (he's allergic to peanuts, or I would not have been gifted with this).

Saturday was beautiful, warm and sunny. I shopped at the chains on Brodie (for necessities) and spent time pulling weeds and being eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Ended up wimping out on Saturday night of my Home Alone weekend, but that's not surprising. These days I'm not used to going out alone and not that comfortable with it. It's been years since I did that. Even after my friend called me at 9:30 or 10pm to tell me that Eric Johnson was in the house at the Saxon Pub I couldn't bring myself to get presentable, drive across town, then try to find parking followed by trying to squeeze myself into an already packed house for Stephen Bruton's birthday celebration. (geez, I am pathetic.) The Saxon Pub is a great place but IMHO does not do big crowds well. It's the tables and chairs... standing room only is one thing (such as Antone's), but dealing with seated people who want you to get out of their line of vision is another. It can be unpleasant... {sigh}. Last time I went through that it was worth it though, because it was New Year's Eve eve, and Stephen Bruton himself performed a couple of songs. He was fighting cancer, which finally got him him a little over four months later. Anyway, Saturday night I did watch the Austin City Limits Band of Heathens episode on TV, where we did get a crowd cameo shot, as I thought we might. :-)

Henry the cat was doing much better over the weekend. His pain meds are doubled now, and that's been a helper. He was a very bad patient on his day admission Friday, and I have to think it was because of having pain.

Sunday found me running through a parking lot with a full grocery cart in the pouring rain, but most of the stuff in there is bundled in plastic, glass or metal (Save the oatmeal!!!!). The rain on Sunday also got me out of MrB's yard work duties. Birdbaths = filled!

Monday I started out by stupidly burning my fingers on the hot stove (my brain disappeared briefly at approximately 4:45AM). Great way to start the week! They are fine today. I put ice on them immediately after, which is exactly what the Mayo Clinic website tells you NOT to do... so don't do that... but it didn't hurt me any. Today (Tuesday) there's some tenderness and a possible blister forming but that's it. Fine.

It's coming up on 6AM now, so gotta go get in the traffic soon.

Home alone weekend

I will be on my own this weekend, MrB is going to St. Louis to see his family members, leaving me with the cat care, birdbath duties, and trying to figure out all these damned remote controls. There are lots of events I've got penciled in, but will probably end up staying home instead, at least at night.

Henry the cat is having some health issues (picking him up from his day admission soon) so I might need to ratchet up my role of kitty caregiver. He wasn't able to stand up last night, his legs wouldn't hold him. My theory is that he jumped down from something, and with his arthritis ended up temporarily hurting himself. This morning he could walk again, but I wanted the doc to check him out anyway. [back from the vet now, don't know anything for sure, could be what I thought with the jump impact triggering sciatica, or possibly a heart issue... we won't know without an ultrasound at the cardiologist -- sigh]

Some weekend options:
The Celtic Festival is this weekend, both days. I loooove that music and this festival. It's in the blood. Cost is $12 per day I think, plus beer and snacks (some of which contain "treacle"). There's also Fun Fun Fun Fest if you prefer something harder. One of my favorite local bands, Shearwater, will be playing but I think I will have to wait for their CD release tour to see them.

Saturday night, Ruby Jane is having her 15th Birthday party at Roadhouse Rags. There will be good music, BYOB, and admission is $10. Also on Saturday night, Crooked Still is playing a free show down in San Marcos [venue]. Two excellent choices.

This is the last weekend for the Chuck Close exhibit at the museum. I think admission is $5. I really want to go to this so will probably drag my butt downtown for it on Saturday, and knowing me, will wimp out on the nighttime events.

heh heh.. yeah...

"Suck it, Jesus"... not just Kathy Griffin's Emmy acceptance speech, it could also be Ringo Starr's reaction to his image being discovered in a droplet of water. Take a look at it here.

You'll get weird looks but won't even know it.

Having problems with glare? Maybe you bought a Snuggie® and it doesn't quite bundle up all the right things? Or just need some privacy?

Featured as one of the 15 Stupidest Products of All Time.

Austin's Heathens out there in the world now

Saw the Band of Heathens on Friday night. It was a beautiful crisp night in Threadgill's beer garden. They've been one of our favorite local bands since sometime in early 2006... thereabouts. They are getting out there in the world a lot lately, constantly on tour, so we don't get to see them that often here anymore... no more weekly gigs at Momo's or the Saxon Pub, and their latest record is #1 on the Americana playlist chart (there's a little animated ad on the sidebar of that page that I make, you can probably guess which one if you are a regular here). MrB took a bunch of videos, which all turned out good and are posted on my YouTube channel. Here is one of their new ones, an incredible song. I just love it.

Here's another one, this one is about 9 minutes long with some sweet vocals, organ, and guitar jams. Sit back and enjoy (hope it isn't hard to load, might need to hit pause and wait for the buffer to get ahead of you).

If you get Austin City Limits in your area (on PBS), they will be on there next week. Check your local listings.

Saturday Halloween, giggles and screams

Halloween was on Saturday this year, and MrB wanted to do a costume (two things that are many many blue moons apart) so we gave out all the candy and went out afterwards. We found out that his costume was way too scary for some of the really little kids, and a few of them freaked out when he opened the door... I mean screams, tears, the works. I finally had to started answering the door (sans the box), because I could pass myself off as a weird Santa, when actually I was Dick In A Box (except that my "dick" was Dick Cheney).


It was really very funny having a fake beard, because I really could have passed for a man. I was coming out of the stall in the restroom and some women freaked for a moment, then we all had a good giggle. Here are some pics from down on 6th street where thousands of people milling around in costumes.







Around 10 we went down to Cheer Up Charlie's on East 6th (which was away from the big crowds) to see Or, The Whale from San Francisco. They are a wonderful band but they don't really have a following in Austin. It was a patio party with a great band, a fire pit, vegan food, and free beer (for tips). The whole night, including the beautiful weather, was a real treat.

New decorations and venue plugging

I've done some housekeeping here at the blog. No, I didn't (knowingly) throw anything away, but I did make a little storage area further down the sidebar - a blogroll of places and people I like, but are not updated so often these days, so if it looks like you are missing you might be relocated. Also got a new banner up.Just like the previous one, it's a shot taken at Roadhouse Rags. You won't find a more "South Austin" place than that. Friendly, great music, BYOB, BYO dog (but there's already a pretty cool dog there), and they sell vintage clothes. Here you go, there's your backstage pass.

And, I have to add, that I've never in my life seen a prettier port-o-potty. This is the women's (obviously). I didn't photograph the men's.

Here's a previous post with some pretty cool photos of the place.

You ain't woman enough to be my man.

[source article] A Kenyan priest has made some inflammatory, and frankly, hilarious comments from the pulpit regarding the recent marriage of two Kenyan men in London.

His explanation is that men want to marry other men because women have failed to provide what they should in marriage. Women have become too complicated and unattractive. He goes on to say that women need to become more "Godly" and "womanly."

Makes perfect sense. If your woman isn't womanly enough for you, try a man. Priests say the darndest things.

Found via Mark Morford

Ceiling Cat thinks ur hawt.

Here's some scripture for your Monday. The entire Bible is being translated into the language of the LOLcat. Srsly. Iz almost dun. This is Song of Solomon 4, from a bible book that's hardly removed from the romance genre anyway.

1 U iz so cute!
U iz so hawt!
Ur eyez iz liek birdz,
an ur hair iz liek goatz
comin down teh mountin. Datz hawt.
2 Ur teefz iz liek sheep
dat just hadded a baff.
Liek twin sheep,
bcz non of ur teefz iz missin.
3 Ur lipz iz red;
ur mouth iz hawt.
Ur butt
iz liek a peech.
4 Ur neck iz liek a towr,,
a pretti wun;
wif 1,000 sheeldz hangin on it,
from spartanz.
5 Ur tittehs iz liek babi deer,
twinz evn,
dat eatz flowrz.
6 Until teh sun comz up
an it gets liet,
I wil go to teh mountin of catnip
an teh hill of insense (datz u).
7 U iz perfekt;
dere iz nothin rong wif u.
8 Com wif me from Lebanon,
liek i sez, com wif me from Lebanon.
Com down offa teh mounten,
enni mountin u happenz to be on,
out of teh lionz housiz
an teh leprdz housiz too.
9 I luvz u;
u stoleded mai hart
wif ur briet eyez,
an ur sparkli collar.
10 Luvin u iz so graet,
bettr dan getting waszted,
an u smel niec too.
11 Ur lipz haz a flavor
an ur tung too.
U smell realli good.
12 U iz liek a pussysekrit gardin,
or maybi a fountain dat bin hid.
13 U iz liek treez
wif lotz of differnt frootz,
all kiendz,
15 U iz liek a drinkin bowl,
teh kiend wif teh built-in watr fountin.
16 Get outa bed, norf wind!,
An teh souf wind too!
Blow on mai pussygardin,
so evriwun can smell how niec it iz.
Let teh cat i liekz com into mai pussygardin
an eat all teh frootz, dey is tasti.

Original here (and by original I mean King James Version because that's the only kind that will not be starring in the Great Halloween Satan's bible Book Burning). Dey woud burn teh LOLcat version if dey cud only get it out uh the internetz. LOL!

The weekend

Saturday was really a pretty great day. The weather was perfect, and we had a whole day and night of activities. Started at Waterloo Park for Oktoberfest, where Dustin Welch (above) started it off around 1:30pm (the crack of dawn for musicians). Admission was $2 or 2 cans of food for charity. Saw some friends, had a couple of microbrews, and headed out to So. Congress.

I had brought my old Victorian-style dress to see if any shops would be willing to take it off my hands. It's a gorgeous thing in burgundy ruffles and ecru lace, came with a matching choker and hooped petticoat. Stopped into Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds costume shop, which was a absolute ZOO with people frantically Halloween shopping. They weren't willing to look at anything new until November, so I just donated it to them. I was happy enough to find a good home for it (the thought of selling it on eBay or craigslist just carried too many hassles with it).

After some iced coffees at Jo's, it was off to Goodwill for our own Halloween shopping, and really not sure how we did in the costume department, but did find the corner table above. They had just put it out 15 minutes previous, and lots of people were checking it out. We really liked it, so one of us stood claim while the other paid for it - $19.99! Turns out it's a 1950s-era chrome and formica corner table made by "Royal Metal Manufacturing Co". Have been looking for one like it online and can't find anything just like it, but some similar items (contemporary or by the same mfg) are bringing very nice prices (in the hundreds) - what a deal! Also couldn't resist this little guy. Normally I don't do figurines, but love this Invisible Man or shady noir character - $1.99.

Finished up the day by going to see Zombieland at the Alamo Drafthouse. It is really funny and very very graphic (not for kids). Woody Harrelson is an absolute hoot! (I hear he's in town right now for the Austin Film Festival) Bill Murray is also in it. Anyway, two thumbs up for Zombieland.

Saturday was the redeemer for Sunday. Today we had to work in the house all day, cleaning. There were mops... and high-dusters. Furniture was moved. Another weekend gone and the alarm will start going off again tomorrow morning at 4:30. Ugh.